We anticipated most of the talking points and even the tone of the State of the Union address Tuesday night. Two things have caught us off guard, however.
The first was the manner in which we had to watch the speech — on our computers and some of us from our homes. Our office lost power, and we used our limited resources to bring the paper together.
As surprising as the outage was, we were more taken aback by an overarching spirit of compromise in both President Obama’s speech and the Republican response as delivered by Rep. Paul Ryan.
Both sides seemed to agree to cut government spending in many of the same places.
They agreed that this is the time to act.
This isn’t to say we didn’t see some pursed lips, near-eyerolls or worried faces.
However, we did notice several appeals from either side overlapping, most of which concern the economy and would, if executed correctly, help the American people.
Yet, as the President said, “What comes of this moment will be determined not by whether we can sit together tonight, but whether we can work together tomorrow.”
For all his semi-funny jokes and awkward pauses, this rang true for us.
Obama laid out guidelines for what he would and would not concede in each topic he discussed, including government spending, health care and Social Security.
He also guaranteed he would veto any bill on his desk marred by earmarks, a measure Majority Leader Harry Reid has already questioned.
We’re ready to call the idea into question too, given the prominence of the practice, but we’re glad to see the president looking to both sides of the aisle for ideas to improve the country.
Perhaps the speech was more toned down and agreeable because of the Tucson shootings, which the President addressed briefly in his introduction.
With the spotlight turned to political rhetoric, many of the speech attendees will be under pressure to play nice — at least in public.
There’s also the possibility that Obama wants a way to say “it wasn’t me” if warranted legislation stalls.
He’s set the tone for compromise, making it difficult to get egg on his face later this year.
For all the talk, Americans want results and action.
What the president says is less important to us than what he and Congress accomplish.
Even more vital than that are the results from their achievements, which, we hope, are new jobs. No matter which side of the aisle we sit on, college students everywhere want to know we will be able to find a job and support ourselves after we take off that cap and gown and frame our diplomas.
We live in a results-based society where few benefit from merely trying. We must do, and so must our politicians.
Otherwise, like other people failing to do their job and to produce the expected results, our leaders may find themselves out of work.
